Morning news brief: Massive blaze engulfs South Korean slum, Lula to meet Biden on Feb 10, & more

A massive blaze was reported in a slum in South Korea's capital city Seoul on Friday (January 20) which led to 500 people being evacuated. The fire broke out at 6:27 am in Guryong Village, which houses approximately 660 families. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet his American counterpart Joe Biden in Washington on February 10. Lula said that he wants to improve strained ties with international governments, including those with the United States. And as the anti-government protests in Peru intensify, 45 demonstrators have died till now. Peru's President Dina Boluarte, who has faced calls to step down, said on Thursday night that protesters who carried out acts of violence will not go unpunished.

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A massive blaze in a shanty town in the South Korean capital, Seoul, has led to around 500 people being evacuated, fire officials said. The fire broke out at 6:27 am Friday in Guryong Village, which houses approximately 660 families.

Left-leaning former trade unionist Lula, who was sworn in as president of Brazil on January 1 for a third term, will go to Washington, D.C., on February 9 for two days, according to his communications staff.

As the anti-government protests in Peru intensify, thousands of protesters descended on the capital city of Lima on Thursday (January 19) angered by a rise in the death toll and calling for a sweeping change of government.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its preliminary report has revealed that the contractors working on the system that alerts pilots of a potential danger had “unintentionally” deleted some files, prompting the entire mechanism to break down on January 11 which affected more than 11,000 flights.